II 

Calendar No. 484 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3959 

To require the Transportation Security Administration to streamline the enrollment processes for individuals applying for a Transportation Security 

Administration security threat assessment for certain programs, including 

the Transportation Worker Identification Credential and Hazardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment programs of the Administration, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2024 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. KING, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. TESTER, Mr. BOOZMAN, and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To require the Transportation Security Administration to 

streamline the enrollment processes for individuals applying for a Transportation Security Administration security 

threat assessment for certain programs, including the 

Transportation Worker Identification Credential and 

Hazardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment 

programs of the Administration, and for other purposes. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 3959 RS

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transportation Secu5 rity Screening Modernization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STREAMLINING OF APPLICATIONS FOR CERTAIN 

7 SECURITY THREAT ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS 

8 OF THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMIN9 ISTRATION. 

10 (a) STREAMLINING.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis13 trator of the Transportation Security Administration 

14 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘TSA’’) shall take 

15 such actions as are necessary, including issuance of 

16 an interim final rule if needed, to streamline the 

17 procedures for individuals applying for or renewing 

18 enrollment in more than one TSA security threat as19 sessment program, in particular, the TWIC and 

20 HAZMAT Endorsement programs, and any other 

21 credentialing programs as determined by the Admin22 istrator, by— 

23 (A) permitting an individual to enroll at 

24 any TSA authorized enrollment center once for 

25 a threat assessment program endorsement and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 3959 RS

1 use the application, including associated biomet2 ric and biographic data, as well as information 

3 generated by TSA’s vetting, for one of such 

4 programs to enroll in any other of such pro5 grams; 

6 (B) permitting an individual to visit any 

7 TSA authorized enrollment center and enroll in 

8 more than one TSA security threat assessment 

9 program at the same time for a fee that is less 

10 than the cumulative fee that would otherwise be 

11 incurred for each such program separately; 

12 (C) permitting an individual to undergo a 

13 streamlined and expeditious renewal process; 

14 (D) aligning the expiration of an individ15 ual’s successful, valid eligibility determination 

16 with the expiration of that individual’s eligi17 bility to participate in subsequent TSA security 

18 threat assessment programs to which the indi19 vidual applies; 

20 (E) providing to States the expiration 

21 dates for each individual’s TSA security threat 

22 assessment to ensure a commercial driver’s li23 cense of an individual who holds a HAZMAT 

24 Endorsement does not indicate the individual is 

25 authorized to transport hazardous materials 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 3959 RS

1 after the expiration date of the enrollment of 

2 the individual in the HAZMAT Endorsement 

3 security threat assessment program if such 

4 commercial driver’s license has an expiration 

5 date that is different from the expiration date 

6 of such enrollment; and 

7 (F) enrolling an individual in a subsequent 

8 TSA security threat assessment program at the 

9 minimum cost necessary for the TSA to cover 

10 printing costs and costs associated with the col11 lection of any additional biometric and bio12 graphic data in accordance with paragraph (3). 

13 (2) STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR STREAM14 LINING.—Not later than 6 months after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, the States shall carry out 

16 the responsibilities of the States pursuant to section 

17 5103a of title 49, United States Code. 

18 (3) SPECIAL RULE.—If an individual under this 

19 subsection is at different times applying for or re20 newing enrollment in more than one TSA security 

21 threat assessment program, such individual may be 

22 required to revisit a TSA authorized enrollment cen23 ter for the collection of additional data, such as bio24 metrics, necessary for any such program that were 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 3959 RS

1 not so collected in connection with any other such 

2 program. 

3 (b) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator of the TSA 

4 shall post on a publicly available website of the TSA infor5 mation relating to the streamlining of the enrollment proc6 esses for individuals applying for more than one TSA secu7 rity threat assessment program described in subsection 

8 (a). 

9 (c) EXPEDITED RULEMAKING.—Notwithstanding 

10 sections 551 through 559 of title 5, United States Code, 

11 nothing in this section shall require notice and comment 

12 rulemaking, and to the extent it is necessary to add addi13 tional requirements for which limited rulemaking may be 

14 advisable, the Administrator of the TSA shall implement 

15 such requirements through publication of an interim final 

16 rule. 

17 (d) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

19 the TSA shall brief Congress on progress made toward 

20 the implementation of this section. 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) HAZMAT ENDORSEMENT.—The term 

23 ‘‘HAZMAT Endorsement’’ means the Hazardous 

24 Materials Endorsement Threat Assessment program 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 3959 RS

1 authorized under section 5103a of title 49, United 

2 States Code. 

3 (2) TWIC.—The term ‘‘TWIC’’ means the 

4 Transportation Worker Identification Credential au5 thorized under section 70105 of title 46, United 

6 States Code. 

7 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transportation Security 

9 Screening Modernization Act of 2024’’. 

10 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis13 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Transpor14 tation Security Administration. 

15 (2) HAZMAT ENDORSEMENT.—The term 

16 ‘‘HAZMAT Endorsement’’ means the Hazardous Ma17 terials Endorsement Threat Assessment program au18 thorized under section 5103a of title 49, United States 

19 Code. 

20 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 

21 several States, the District of Columbia, and the terri22 tories and possessions of the United States. 

23 (4) TSA.—The term ‘‘TSA’’ means the Trans24 portation Security Administration. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 3959 RS

1 (5) TWIC.—The term ‘‘TWIC’’ means the Trans2 portation Worker Identification Credential authorized 

3 under section 70105 of title 46, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 3. STREAMLINING OF APPLICATIONS FOR CERTAIN SE5 CURITY THREAT ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS OF 

6 THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINIS7 TRATION. 

8 (a) STREAMLINING.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis11 trator shall take such actions as are necessary, includ12 ing issuance of an interim final rule if needed, to 

13 streamline the procedures for individuals applying for 

14 or renewing enrollment in more than one TSA secu15 rity threat assessment program, in particular, the 

16 TWIC and HAZMAT Endorsement programs, and 

17 any other credentialing programs as determined by 

18 the Administrator, by— 

19 (A) permitting an individual to enroll at 

20 any TSA authorized enrollment center once for a 

21 threat assessment program endorsement and use 

22 the application, including associated biometric 

23 and biographic data, as well as information gen24 erated by TSA’s vetting, for one of such pro25 grams to enroll in any other of such programs; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 3959 RS

1 (B) permitting an individual to visit any 

2 TSA authorized enrollment center and enroll in 

3 more than one TSA security threat assessment 

4 program at the same time for a fee that is less 

5 than the cumulative fee that would otherwise be 

6 incurred for each such program separately; 

7 (C) permitting an individual to undergo a 

8 streamlined and expeditious renewal process; 

9 (D) aligning the expiration of an individ10 ual’s successful, valid eligibility determination 

11 with the expiration of that individual’s eligi12 bility to participate in subsequent TSA security 

13 threat assessment programs to which the indi14 vidual applies; 

15 (E) providing to States the expiration dates 

16 for each individual’s TSA security threat assess17 ment to ensure a commercial driver’s license of 

18 an individual who holds a HAZMAT Endorse19 ment does not indicate the individual is author20 ized to transport hazardous materials after the 

21 expiration date of the enrollment of the indi22 vidual in the HAZMAT Endorsement security 

23 threat assessment program if such commercial 

24 driver’s license has an expiration date that is 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 3959 RS

1 different from the expiration date of such enroll2 ment; and 

3 (F) enrolling an individual in a subsequent 

4 TSA security threat assessment program at the 

5 minimum cost necessary for the TSA to cover 

6 printing, issuance, and case management costs, 

7 costs associated with the collection of any addi8 tional biometric and biographic data in accord9 ance with paragraph (3), and other costs that 

10 are not duplicative. 

11 (2) STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR STREAM12 LINING.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act, the States shall carry out the 

14 responsibilities of the States pursuant to section 

15 5103a of title 49, United States Code. 

16 (3) SPECIAL RULE.—If an individual under this 

17 subsection is at different times applying for or renew18 ing enrollment in more than one TSA security threat 

19 assessment program, such individual may be required 

20 to revisit a TSA authorized enrollment center for the 

21 collection of additional data, such as biometrics, nec22 essary for any such program that were not so collected 

23 in connection with any other such program. 

24 (b) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall post on a 

25 publicly available website of the TSA information relating 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 3959 RS

1 to the streamlining of the enrollment processes for individ2 uals applying for more than one TSA security threat assess3 ment program described in subsection (a). 

4 (c) EXPEDITED RULEMAKING.—Notwithstanding sec5 tions 551 through 559 of title 5, United States Code, noth6 ing in this section shall require notice and comment rule7 making, and to the extent it is necessary to add additional 

8 requirements for which limited rulemaking may be advis9 able, the Administrator shall implement such requirements 

10 through publication of an interim final rule. 

11 (d) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall brief 

13 Congress on progress made toward the implementation of 

14 this section. 

15 SEC. 4. ELIMINATING DUPLICATIVE COSTS. 

16 (a) AUDIT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

18 United States shall audit the administration of the security 

19 threat assessment programs by the TSA and the States, in20 cluding the TWIC and HAZMAT Endorsement programs. 

21 (b) ELEMENTS.— 

22 (1) TSA AUDIT.—In conducting the audit of the 

23 TSA required by subsection (a), the Comptroller Gen24 eral shall— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 3959 RS

1 (A) identify any redundancies and duplica2 tions in costs and administration of security 

3 threat assessment programs that if eliminated 

4 would not impact national security and any 

5 benefits of eliminating such redundancies and 

6 duplications and improving the experiences for 

7 individuals applying for or renewing enrollment 

8 in more than one TSA security threat assessment 

9 program; 

10 (B) review the impacts of the implementa11 tion by the TSA of recommendations from pre12 vious studies conducted by the Comptroller Gen13 eral, including GAO-07-756 and GAO-17-182, on 

14 increasing the efficiency and effectiveness, and 

15 reducing costs, of processing applications for en16 rollment and renewal in TSA security threat as17 sessment programs; 

18 (C) review the findings of the assessment re19 quired by section 1(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act 

20 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to 

21 prepare a comprehensive security assessment of 

22 the transportation security card program, and 

23 for other purposes’’, approved December 16, 2016 

24 (46 U.S.C. 70105 note; Public Law 114–278) 

25 and determine whether the TSA has implemented 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 3959 RS

1 any remedies to redundancies and duplication 

2 identified by that assessment and whether such 

3 implementation impacted national security; 

4 (D) determine whether there are unique 

5 challenges rural applicants have with accessing 

6 TSA security threat assessment programs; 

7 (E) assess the numbers and locations of en8 rollment centers for meeting the needs of such 

9 programs, including determining the access pro10 vided to rural applicants; 

11 (F) identify potential opportunities that 

12 exist to improve the enrollment center operations 

13 of and customer experience with such programs; 

14 (G) identify potential opportunities to har15 monize the enrollment, vetting, and renewal 

16 processes of such programs in which similar in17 formation is collected for similar security threat 

18 assessment processes for different vetted creden19 tials while not impacting national security; 

20 (H) identify other ways the TSA can reduce 

21 the costs of the TSA security threat assessment 

22 programs while not impacting national security; 

23 and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 3959 RS

1 (I) review the vetting, application, and en2 rollment processes of each TSA security threat 

3 assessment program. 

4 (2) STATE AUDIT.—In conducting the audit of 

5 the States required by subsection (a), the Comptroller 

6 General shall review— 

7 (A) the administration of the HAZMAT 

8 Endorsement program by the States; 

9 (B) methods by which the States could 

10 streamline the HAZMAT Endorsement program; 

11 and 

12 (C) any potential barriers States face ad13 ministering TSA security threat assessment pro14 grams for individuals applying to TWIC and the 

15 HAZMAT Endorsement program or individuals 

16 that already have a TWIC credential. 

17 (c) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 

18 180 days after the date of the completion of the audit re19 quired by subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the 

20 United States shall submit to the Administrator, the Com21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

22 Senate, and the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

23 House of Representatives a report that includes— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 3959 RS

1 (1) a summary and analysis of the costs associ2 ated with the operation and administration of each 

3 individual TSA security threat assessment program; 

4 (2) a summary and analysis of the application 

5 and enrollment costs associated with providing an in6 dividual multiple credentials under TSA security 

7 threat assessment programs; 

8 (3) an identification of any potential duplicative 

9 processes associated with an applicant applying for, 

10 or the vetting or enrollment by the TSA of an indi11 vidual in, a subsequent or multiple TSA security 

12 threat assessment programs; 

13 (4) a breakdown of costs borne by applicants for 

14 current enrollment and renewal processes of such pro15 grams; 

16 (5) ways to improve access to such programs, in17 cluding for rural applicants; 

18 (6) any potential recommendations to the TSA 

19 for reducing costs and streamlining the administra20 tion and operation of each TSA security threat assess21 ment program while not impacting national security; 

22 (7) any potential recommendations for the TSA 

23 to administer such programs in a way that would 

24 improve national security; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 3959 RS

1 (8) any potential recommendations for ways 

2 States can improve their role in administering the 

3 HAZMAT Endorsement program and streamline the 

4 application process or reduce costs for individuals 

5 seeking multiple transportation security credentials. 

6 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of the receipt of the report required by sub9 section (c), the Administrator shall— 

10 (A) implement the recommendations from 

11 such report; 

12 (B) provide to the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

14 the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

15 House of Representatives a written notification 

16 detailing— 

17 (i) the timeline for implementation of 

18 each recommendation from the report; 

19 (ii) justifications for any implementa20 tion timeline lasting longer than 2 years; 

21 and 

22 (iii) justifications for recommendations 

23 that the Administrator has declined to pur24 sue or implement. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 3959 RS

1 (2) BRIEFINGS.—Not later than 60 days after 

2 the date of the receipt of the report required by sub3 section (c), and annually thereafter until the date 

4 that the TSA has implemented each recommendation 

5 made in such report, the Administrator shall brief the 

6 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor7 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland 

8 Security of the House of Representatives on the imple9 mentation of recommendations from the report. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
Calendar No. 484 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3959 

A BILL 

To require the Transportation Security Administraother purposes. ment programs of the Administration, and for ardous Materials Endorsement Threat Assess- tation Worker Identification Credential and Haz- for certain programs, including the Transpor- rity Administration security threat assessment individuals applying for a Transportation Secu- tion to streamline the enrollment processes for 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB